


Secrets of the Full Moon

by confusednerdling



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Wynonna and Nicole brOTP, supernatural!Nicole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-09 18:50:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11675013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confusednerdling/pseuds/confusednerdling
Summary: God, Nicole was a werewolf.A fucking werewolf.One moment she was working a case, and the next she’s a werewolf. She had so many questions. What does transitioning into a full-fledged werewolf exactly entail? How frequently is Nicole going to have to shave now? But out all of the questions she could have asked, she found one spill from her lips. “Can we keep this between us?” Nicole had blurted. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot harder to come out as a werewolf then it is to come out as gay,”---OR: After Nicole Haught is attacked by a werewolf and subsequently becomes one, things in Purgatory are not the same as Nicole attempts to come to terms with her new abilities and what it means for her and her relationships.





	1. Chapter 1

It was supposed to be a routine case. A couple complaints about noise from a couple nosey neighbors meant just a casual stroll on in to check what all the fuss was about. Based on the complaints, Nicole was just expecting it to be some new couple who must have gotten a new dog or something. 

What she didn’t expect was a giant ass wolf. 

And she certainly didn’t expect the giant ass wolf to leap onto her. 

When she arrived, she had entered the property, knocked on the doors, and looked around. She waited a moment, standing on the house steps, looking around the property - a large and spacious farm that was home to no animals, it appeared. And she waited for a response before she took in the silence and began to walk back to our cruiser. 

No one was home so she was going to leave. God, she wished she just hopped back into her cruiser and went the other way. Maybe she could have beat Waverly home and surprised her with a home cook meal. Or went back to the station and hung out with Dolls and Doc. Or go home and just sleep, just get in a solid eight hours before the next shift, but nope. Nope. Nope.  
Because Nicole heard a noise. 

She was halfway to the cruiser when she heard a loud screech, a loud thunderous noise that made her tense and freeze and her fingers wrapped around her gun on instinct. She stood frozen. She could have gone home. Gone the other way. Pretended not to hear. Or she could have called Wynonna or Waverly or Dolls or Doc or Hell anyone for some backup. But this was supposed to be a routine case. This was supposed to be a normal, mundane, boring case that would rot Nicole’s brain as she did the paperwork. It was supposed to be fine. So she didn’t. She didn’t keep walking to the car. She released her grip on her gun and inched to the origins of the noise. 

It was coming from the barn. Had she walked quicker to the car, she would have missed it all together. She wondered later if this was because she was just a good officer or it was fate. Most nights, she can agree it’s the latter. 

She waited by the barn doors and then she heard another noise. It was a strangled noise like someone was trying to keep it from coming out. Without a moment of hesitation, she knocked on the barn door. 

“Hello. Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield? Are you in there? It’s Officer Haught. I was just checking in on a few noise complaints and - “

Another growl boomed from behind the oak doors. Deep and guttural and not at all human. And every hair on Nicole’s body rose. And every gut instinct Nicole had screamed. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield, are you alright?” She knew deep down they weren’t. She knew deep down this could be supernatural, that she should call her amazing girlfriend and her amazing girlfriend’s crazy sister with the big ass, magic gun. But, she heard another noise. A painful noise like the sound of something eating, ripping, tearing into something, and Nicole Haught couldn’t stop herself. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield, I’m coming in!” She took her gun out and slowly pushed the barn door open. It creaked and Nicole couldn’t help but wince at the sharp noise. Then, everything was quiet. Too quiet. _Way_ too quiet. And before she knew it, a large blur of dark fur was charging toward her. 

She fired three bullets. She knew that for a fact. One went into the woods. One slammed into the barn door. The other might have clipped the creature, but Nicole couldn’t exactly tell, because it was on top of her, nails digging into her skin. She let out a cry of pain and rolled to her side, pulling the mass figure off her, but the creature would not relent.

Nicole pushed at it. Kicked at it. Screamed at it. Punched at it. She grabbed its dark fur and with all her strength, slammed the creature hard into the ground. And suddenly its grip loosened and the second it had, the second the wolf was pushed off, it bounded off into the woods leaving Nicole laying on the ground in shock with her uniform in shreds and blood spilling out.

And that’s about time she passed out.

\---

Nicole woke up a little while later. It must have been the same day. It had to be. But now the sky was dark and filled with beautiful stars and a glowing moon that illuminated the town and glistened off of the blood….

Blood.

And it all came rushing back to Nicole, and she couldn’t help but wince. Like claws were raking into her skin once more. 

“ _Fuck_ ,”

Nicole picked herself up off the ground in the panic, eyeing the dirt, eyeing the blood, eyeing the tufts of dark hairs from her scuffle with the wolf. She looked down at herself. She seemed relatively alright. Her back must be bruised from the impact of falling so hard on the ground. It surely ached already, but when she looked down she saw two large gashes that ran from her collarbone to her sternum. 

She pressed the pad of her finger against it and cringed, fighting the urge to scream out. 

“Waverly is gonna murder me,” she whispered to no one in particular. But for some reason, despite the fact that she knew logically she should seek some sort of medical attention, Nicole felt averse to the whole idea all together. Which was odd, but she couldn’t help it. 

She looked down again and ran her fingers against the new marks on her skin and holes in her shirt. It wasn’t a big deal, really. Just two large, deep scratches, she reasoned in her head. No point bothering the doctors who probably were fixing up whatever poor soul who got in the way of the Earp curse this week. 

Without another moment of thought, she slowly made her way back in her cruiser and headed back to the station to change, ignoring the droplets of blood that ran down her skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been really obsessed with werewolf!Nicole for a while now and decided to write. I've been working on this fic for about two weeks, and I finally found the courage to post it. I'm still not done, but a few of the chapters are currently done. Also, the Caulfields - the name I choose for the family - came from the fact that I'm currently 16 and I already have grey hair - which led to people calling me "the real life Holden Caulfield". Anyways, that's just a fun fact for you.
> 
> My tumblr is haughtwords. If you got a prompt or wanna talk, hit me up. I used to be trappedinyourwords, but my obsession and crush on Nicole inspired me to change it.


	2. Chapter 2

After a few tries, Nicole managed to get her key in the door knob of her apartment and enter without causing too much of a ruckus. She peeled off her pants, undid her shoes - wincing at all the movements - and hobbled toward her room, leaning against anything she possible could grab onto.

What didn’t seem like a big deal before, now did. Nicole’s vision had worsen with each passing hour. Thankfully, she scored a ride home, because now, walking in a straight line seemed very, very impossible. Everything was either blurry or far too bright or the room was spinning or she was seeing double. It was all too much. 

She pushed the bedroom door open, ready to collapse in her bed and sleep all this off and pretend that what had happened before was just some messed up, crazy fever dream and - 

“ _What the Hell, Nicole?_ ”

Nicole blinked. She knew that voice. She knew that voice really well. She narrowed her eyes to see Waverly Earp, in all her eternal beauty, sitting on bed, criss-cross applesauce, with a book written in Latin (or some other dead language that Nicole could barely fathom) on her lap. She was in Nicole’s softball tee shirt that looked like a dress on her and her hair was all over, but Nicole knew she looked beautiful. Well, she knew that once her vision corrected itself, she would be able to see that her girlfriend looked beautiful because Waverly was always beautiful. 

It was just a fact of life.

In that moment of tense silence, Nicole learned another fact of life. Apparently, if Nicole dropped off the face of the planet for a few hours, came to her apartment really late, and looked like a sweaty, shaking mess, Waverly was no doubt going to be upset. She learned this really quickly. 

“First, I get a call from Nedley saying you went to check out some noise complaint. Then, I get a call from him asking me where the Hell you are, because he hadn’t heard from you in a few hours and naturally he assumed you were with me. But guess what, you weren’t. I texted you thirty times, Nicole. And it’s not an exaggeration. You would know if you checked your phone and responded. And then I get a call, four hours later, from Nedley saying he found you at the station with your uniform a mess and - What are you doing? Are you going to throw up? Nicole?” Waverly’s voice moved from anger to great concern with very little transition in between.

“No. No. I’m fine. C-Continue,” But Nicole certainly wasn’t fine. She was hunched over, with one hand on her knee and the other gripping her stomach. Her insides felt as swirled and confusing as her vision was. And it was taking everything in her power not to throw up in the middle of Waverly’s rant, but her girlfriend was a perfect angel and certainly not an idiot. 

“You’re not fine!” Waverly jumped to her side, leading her to the bathroom. “God, Nicole. Are you okay? You’re scaring me,”

“‘Mm sorry,” Nicole felt her body go limp the second her feet touched the tile and she crumpled to the floor, back against the wall, and enjoyed the coolness for a moment while Waverly tugged at her to get her back up.

“Nicole! You’re burning up!” Waverly yelped. She let go of Nicole’s shirt and quickly rushed to the medicine cabinet, slamming it open and rooting around. “Where do you keep your aspirin or, um, maybe Tylenol, or Advil even?”

“...Third sh - “ Nicole slammed her eyes shut as the room became way too, impossibly bright. “Waves, can you...turn the lights off. I can’t…”

“Oh! Sure!” 

She heard a click of a lightswitch and decided it was safe to take a peek. Nicole opened one eye first and then the other and was puzzled that, to her, she barely noticed a difference between the lights being on or being off. Except now, things were incredibly bright or blurry or a mess, but instead it was fine. It was like any other day. It was… 

Night vision. Nicole had fucking night vision. She would have let out a cackle or freaked out or reacted in some way, but, unfortunately, Waverly Earp couldn’t see perfectly well in pitch darkness and accidentally knocked down a handful of products from the cabinet onto the sink. Creating a cacophony in the very small bathroom. 

“Oh! Shit!” Waverly winced at the sound. “Sorry, baby. Let me just - “

“I got it,” Nicole picked herself up off the ground, using the counter as a support, and returned everything back to its original location, but not before she gently placed the aspirin in Waverly’s hand. “You can...turn the ‘ights on now. I’m just gonna - “

“Close your eyes? Right. Got it,” The light switch clicked once more and Nicole was sure to cover her brown eyes before a hint of light made contact. “What’s going on? Did you hit your head, baby? Maybe this a concussion or a migraine. I just don’t… Are you alright? You have a fever and - “

“I’m sick,” Nicole lied without thinking much of it. “Fell asleep...on the job. It’s embarrassing. I’m n-not used to the cold,”

This must have been alright and sufficient enough because Waverly said nothing and led her to the bed. “Here take this,” She felt the pill be pushed in between her lips and swallowed it with no objection. “Just get some rest, Nicole,” Waverly whispered. She felt Waverly’s lips press against her own before she fell asleep in her girlfriend’s embrace. 

\---

Nicole woke up with a start, nearly launching herself out of bed and was overwhelmed with a great feeling of _good_. She felt good. She felt better. She could see normally with the lights on. She didn’t have a fever or was grossly sweaty or shaky. She was fine. She was almost able to convince herself the other night had been a dream.

Almost.

Because she could hear Waverly on the phone. 

Thing was that Waverly wasn’t in the room. Which would have been fine, but Nicole popped her head out of the bedroom and noticed that Waverly wasn’t in there either, but Nicole could still hear her as if she was close by. 

“She came home really late last night, Wynonna. I’m worried… No. No. She said she was sick. She had a fever and… Of course, I - … Wynonna, I’m not stupid I checked. It was _146_ Fahrenheit, Wynonna. _146_!! That’s _extremely_ high! Not only that, ‘Nonna, but a fever of 140 should KILL her. _Kill her_! My girlfriend should be dead, ‘Nonna!” 

Nicole padded around the apartment and made her way to the window where she could see the parking lot on a hunch. And low and behold, sitting in the driver’s seat was Waverly Earp twirling one of her braids. 

“No! No, I did not get it wrong! … How do I know? _How do I know?_ You are talking to Waverly Earp, ‘Nonna! I checked seven times! I went to the pharmacy shop three blocks away, bought another thermometer, and checked again! And by this morning, the fever was gone!” Waverly sighed and rubbed her forehead with her free hand. Nicole hated seeing her girlfriend so stressed out, and she definitely hated being the cause of it. “I couldn’t bring her to the hospital, because… I think it’s demon related. It has to be, right? It’s unnatural,” Waverly paused to listen to Wynonna and let out another loud sigh. She looked tired, and Nicole couldn’t help but be concerned for her girlfriend. Even though a part of her realized she should be concerned about what was happening to her. “Right. Right. I’ll come over. But only for a little while, I want to be back before Nicole wakes up… Yup. Got it. Be there in fifteen,” 

Nicole watched Waverly text with her phone for a good minute before placing the phone in the passenger's seat and driving off in her red Jeep. Only when the car was out of view did Nicole move to check her phone which had buzzed.

Indeed, there had been thirty text messages left by Waverly all filled with colorful language and all abusing the rules of caps lock. Nicole only focused on the most recent one, however. 

Waverly: Going over Wynonna’s for a bit. Pregnancy stuff. I should be back before you wake up, but just in case, there is tea and soup on the counter. Please eat, and please stay in bed. Called Nedley. No work for you today. Take care of yourself please. <3

Nicole tossed her phone from hand to hand before she responded.

Nicole: Alright. Thanks, baby. Feeling a lot better! See you soon. <3

Short and sweet, and hopefully, not at all worrying. Nicole put her phone aside and sat down on the couch. Exhaustion and concern and worry and all sorts of heavy emotions began to weigh her down. 

And for the first time, in a long time, Nicole felt herself begin to break down as she allowed herself to process the recent events. There was no hiding. It happened. It fucking happened, and the plates of armor, her walls, her “officer” mode, it all just crumbled at her feet. 

She was just Nicole. Just normal Nicole. Except she wasn’t normal. She could hear through the apartment complex as easily as she could hear someone in another room. She could see perfectly fine in the pitch black darkness of night. She survived a fever that should have turned her brains and organ to soup, but she was fine. She was fine. Except in all the ways that she wasn’t. And her brain was beginning to hurt, but she didn’t know if that was from confusion or because the fever did actually turn her brain to soup. 

She tugged at the hem of blue V-neck. It was her emergency shirt. She always kept it at the station in case a change of clothes was needed. But right now, all it did was hide Nicole from the truth. 

She steadied herself, took a deep breath, and peeled it off slowly with her eyes closed shut. Too scared of what she’ll find, and when she did, when she finally opened her eyes, she couldn’t help but let out a sob. 

Where the two deep gashes once were, now lived two, long, silvery scars.

She shouldn’t have healed that quick. She shouldn’t have. She shouldn’t exist. She should be dead. She didn’t know why this was happening, but it was happening and it was happening quick. Nicole wasn’t fine. Well, she was fine in the sense that she was healthy and okay, but how healthy and how okay wasn’t exactly certain. It was all foggy. It was all too much. 

She threw the shirt back on even though it felt like too much to have fabric on her skin. And she knew she should stay. She knew she should lay back in bed and confess the whole shit show of a life she was having right about now to Waverly, but she couldn’t stand still. She needed to leave. She needed to move. She needed to be not okay and be okay with that. And she needed to figure out how to be fine and if she was fine when she felt not fine. And so, she took off, leaving her phone on the couch and the tea and soup still on the counter and headed off to the only person she knew could help her right now.


	3. Chapter 3

Waverly Earp was currently a walking ball of stress with hair for days as she paced inside the homestead while a pregnant Wynonna worked in the kitchen. 

“Curse… No. Fairies? No. No. Witch? Maybe. It could be a spell. Shit. It could be a Revenant, but… Shit. Did we kill him already?” Waverly paused her pacing. “Wynonna?”

“Uh, yeah?” Her head poked out of the kitchen. 

“Do you know where I keep the kill list? I think I misplaced it,” 

“The fuck is a kill list?” Wynonna frowned. 

Waverly let out an exasperated sigh and tossed her journal onto the couch. “It’s a list of the Revenants we’ve killed! God!”

Wynonna merely shrugged and stepped out of the kitchen, dropping her spoon into her ice cream bowl. “Maybe you should just talk to your girlfriend before jumping to conclusions,” 

“She doesn’t know the supernatural the way I do, ‘Nonna! She could be affected by something and not know! O-Or take offense if I say something. Look, just…. Do you know where I keep my kill list or not?”

“No. Sorry. I don’t know where anything is really,” Wynonna looked around the homestead with a huff. “Place is a mess,”

Waverly rolled her eyes. “And I wonder who’s fault that is….”

“Hey! Hey!” Wynonna said in a mock defensive tone. “Don’t go waving fingers!” She noted her sister’s demeanor with soft eyes and took a break from her usual antics. “You need to calm down there, baby girl. Listen, Haughtpants is going to be fine. She has the Earps in her corner. But if you’re concerned, you know, just invite her here to the homestead, and I’ll protect her with my magic gun,” Wynonna lifted up Peacemaker for effect. “Or, I could go over there. I’ve always wanted to see bumper sticker’s tunnel of love,”

Waverly whipped her head around, scandalized. “Wynonna!”

Wynonna shrugged. There would never be a serious enough situation to get Wynonna to stop cracking jokes. “Don’t worry, Waves. We’re not going to let, Haughtie, get hurt. We need her to go on my craving runs at three in the morning. We got a good system going. A dead Haught is just going to ruin things. And, of course, because we all appreciate her and that you love her and all that gross emotional jazz. Now, we good? You calm? You aren’t gonna go all Wynonna on this are you?”

Waverly stopped her pacing to give her sister a small smile at the usage of “Wynonna” as a verb. “I’m okay,” She looked off. “But I think I’m going to call Jeremy. Running a few tests can narrow things down,”

“Hm, as long as Haughtstuff is alright with it,” Wynonna shrugged once more. 

\---

Nicole found herself on the other side of town by a motel that seemed in rather good condition that currently housed one of Black Badge Division’s greatest and often most stoic agents. 

She didn’t know exactly how she ended up running for only an hour and covering that great a distance without breaking a sweat, but somehow she did it. She ignored the fear and the panic that line of thought brought her down and simply pushed through. Before she could think things through, she was knocking on the door. 

Dolls opened it, dressed in a white long sleeve, dark pants, a black baseball cap, and a cup of coffee in his left hand. He eyed Nicole from head to toe for a long moment, not saying a word, before he side-stepped and wordlessly invited her into the room. She couldn’t even imagine how she looked - how wide her brown eyes must be or how disheveled her hair was or how pale her skin must be. 

Thankfully, Dolls wasn’t in a questioning mood. He merely moved to the kitchen portion of the room, poured another cup of coffee, and placed it into Nicole’s hand before he took a seat opposite of her. 

“I need help,” were the first words that came out of her mouth. 

“I see that,” was his response. And the two stared at each other, both nursing their coffees until Nicole broke the silence once more. 

Finding communication to be more difficult than usual, Nicole slipped into her “officer” mode like it was some sort of security blanket. “I was attacked by a wolf at about four in the evening at the end of my shift at the edge of the Caulfields’ property. I was responding to a noise complaint and heard a disturbing noise come from the barn. Upon opening it, I was attacked. The wolf left two large gashes - “ Nicole demonstrated exactly where using her index finger. “Collarbone to about sternum. After the situation, I lost consciousness. I awoke at about ten at night, made my way to the station. At the station, I was confronted by a lack of vision. I returned to my apartment after being dropped off by Nedley at about eleven at night. There, I had felt my condition deteriate rapidly. I was physically nauseous, shaking, had a fever - that was discovered to be 146 degrees Fahrenheit - and was sweating profusely. I realized I could see perfectly in the dark - night vision, I believe. When I awoke, the previous symptoms were gone yet I had immensely unnatural hearing, healing ability, and apparently endurance and speed,”

Dolls seemed not at all bothered by the verbal report. He took another nonchalant sip of his coffee before he set the cup down and looked Nicole in the eyes. “You already know, don’t you? I know you’re not some flat footed, rookie cop,”

“It was a werewolf. Wasn’t it? That attacked me. It was a werewolf. I’m a….”

“Not yet,” Dolls clarified. “But it seems you’re transitioning into one - the fever, the sweating, and shaking - it’s happening,”

Nicole fiddled with the hem of her blue shirt. “What can we do to stop it?” she asked, but she already knew the answer. 

“Nothing, Haught. I’m sorry,” And he genuinely sounded apologetic too. He crossed his arms in front of him and leaned back a little in the chair. “It took me a while to come to terms with what I am - “

“Yeah, and what exactly is that? Cause Wynonna is saying you’re some sort of sexy dragon and - “

Dolls ignored her and continued, “But once I was able to understand that no matter what, I am still Xavier Dolls, I was able to use my ability to further assist the team,” He leaned a bit more forward now. “You’re still Nicole Haught,”

“I am,” she agreed. Even if part of her wanted to argue and fight and say otherwise. 

“You’re still an asset to this team,”

Nicole looked down slightly but nodded in assent. 

“And you’re going to be okay,”

That last point of the pep talk didn’t exactly stick. Really, Nicole felt like everything was just spinning out of control, and she was doing everything she could to remain cool and collected like all her training had taught her to be. But she wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to punch someone in the face. Preferably whoever did this to her. And she couldn’t help, but think that she never related more to Waverly all those weeks ago when Waverly Earp sat in her cruiser and shouted about how everything was moving so fast without her say, without her permission. 

God, Nicole missed Waverly. 

She looked up at Dolls. “I’m going to be okay,” she parroted back. 

“Good. Glad to hear. Now, anything else I can help you with, Officer Haught?”

Nicole hesitated for a moment. Unsure of what else to say, because there was so much to talk about. Like, had Dolls seen this happen before? God, Nicole was a werewolf. _A fucking werewolf._ One moment she was working a case, and the next she’s a werewolf with superhuman powers. She had so many questions. What does transitioning into a full-fledged werewolf exactly entail? How frequently is Nicole going to have to shave now? But out all of the questions she could have asked, she found one spill from her lips. “Can we keep this between us?” Nicole had blurted. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot harder to come out as a werewolf then it is to come out as gay,”

Dolls smiled at that, genuinely pleased that Nicole managed to keep her snark after everything. “Of course, Haught,” He stood up from his chair. “And I’ll investigate the Caulfields with Wynonna. It’s best you stay away from it,”

“Right,” she said almost bitterly. She wanted to investigate the Caulfields _alongside_ Wynonna and Dolls, but she supposed she couldn't win everything. Even if this case was now extremely important to her, Nicole wasn’t officially a part of Black Badge Division, and a supernatural case was clearly BBD jurisdiction. Even if it seemed nowadays, it was Nicole who was the supernatural one. 

She made her way to the door. 

“And Officer Haught?”

She turned to face him. “Yes?”

“I would keep an eye on the moon. We’ll discuss the provisions necessary to take to make sure you don’t lose control soon,”

“Right,” she nodded. “Thank you,” It made sense, but she couldn’t help but feel a little sick. Once, she used to protect the citizens of Purgatory. Now, it seemed like they needed protection from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if this is my best work, but hopefully it doesn't disappoint. And at the end of the day, don't we all just need a good pep talk from Dolls? Next chapter, Nicole and Waverly are finally going to talk about some things, because Lord knows they need to. 
> 
> The response for this fic has been overwhelming and positive and absolutely lovely. Thank you to every single person who commented. It means so much to me that so many of you enjoy it! I hope I don't let you down! Sending love and good vibes to all of you. 
> 
> Tumblr: haughtwords


	4. Chapter 4

Waverly entered the apartment, careful not to make much noise. She looked around fondly. She remembered when she had viewed the apartment for the first time, her first night spent here, her first breakfast, lunch, dinner… So many memories, but for the first time, the place felt different than before. 

She walked carefully into the bedroom - in case her beautiful girlfriend was getting some rest, but when she entered she found it was simply the contrary. 

Nicole sat on the end of her bed with her laptop on her lap, and her eyes madly combing through whatever she was reading.

“How are you feeling?” Waverly asked softly, but still Nicole nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Waverly!” she placed a hand on her heart as if it going to leap out from her chest, but her shock fell quickly and turned into confusion and almost disappointment in herself. Waverly wasn’t too sure. “I didn’t hear you,” Nicole said aloud. Waverly wondered if she had meant to say that by the lost expression on her face. 

“Well, I - “

Nicole looked down, clearly puzzled. “Why didn’t I hear you?” she mumbled under her breath and self-consciously rubbed her ears. 

Waverly took a few steps closer. “I was really quiet, babe. You feeling alright? You look a little - “

“What? What is it?” Nicole tossed the laptop aside and strode quickly to the mirror on the door, eyeing every feature cautiously. She examined herself from head to toe searching for something. Her eyes were wide and wild. Her body was shaky, but it wasn’t like last night, it wasn’t born from the effects of a high fever but rather it seemed born from nerves. 

Sharp tendrils of concern slid deeper and deeper into Waverly’s chest. “Hey, hey. It’s nothing,” Waverly assured her. She took a step forward to place a comforting hand on Nicole’s shoulder, but before their skin could even make contact with one another, Nicole jumped back. 

She looked scared. She looked like a wild animal trapped in a cage. 

Waverly snapped her hand back to her side. “I’m sorry. I didn’t kn - “

“No. No. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Waverly,” Nicole’s voice shook. Her fingers ran up and down her arms. Her eyes were watery, and Waverly felt her heart pang with sympathy. 

She had never seen her girlfriend like this, so distraught. 

“Nicole, what is going on?” Waverly whispered, because anything else would feel like screaming. “I know… I know something is going on. Something...supernatural. I know you didn’t just get sick and pass out. Nicole, what is going on? Please tell me,”

Nicole stood there silently for a few moments before she made her way to the bed sat down and admitted softly, “I was attacked by something… But… It’s over,” She slouched slightly, looking a little defeated. “I’m not ready to talk about it all just yet,” 

It stung. It stung really bad, but Waverly bobbed her head and down, crossing her arms around her. “ _Right_ ,” But it came out too bitter. Too sarcastic. She hadn’t meant to.

“But I want to. I really want to, but - “ Nicole’s sentence fell apart as tears again began to well up in those brown eyes. 

“No, no,” Waverly sat down beside her on the bed. “I’m sorry that was unfair of me. You always give me the space I need and…” She took a deep breath. “I’m here for you, Nicole. When you want to talk,”

“Thanks,”

“Just…” Waverly exhaled softly. “Just, are you okay? Just tell me if you’re okay,”

“I’m okay,”

“And you promise?”

“I promise,” 

The two sat in silence staring at the wall in front of them. 

“Do you want me to go?” She didn’t want to leave, but she figured the choice was up to Nicole. 

Thankfully, Nicole didn’t want Waverly to leave either as she vehemently shook her head. “No, stay. Please,” 

And so Waverly stayed.

\---

Wynonna came by the apartment a little later once Nicole was able to regain her composure. This time Wynonna was not able to sneak up on Nicole the way Waverly had. In fact, the second Wynonna entered the apartment complex, Nicole’s noise wrinkled with disgust. 

“What is it?” Waverly inquired. She had been watching Nicole carefully the whole day like she was afraid she was going to fall apart. Nicole didn’t blame her. In fact, she appreciated it greatly even though she felt guilt coil around her stomach for worrying her girlfriend.

“Tea,” was all Nicole said as her explanation and before Wynonna could even knock and without thinking, Nicole began to walk to bedroom to grab her phone charger after saying, “Your sister is here,”

“How on Earth - ?” Waverly frowned, but once the knock on the door rang out, she dropped her interrogation. The second she entered, Wynonna whistled and said, “Nice digs, Haughtstuff!” But her younger sister quickly pulled her aside, and the Earps engaged in a conversation not meant for Nicole’s ears. 

Well, not meant for Nicole’s _human_ ears. Thing was Nicole wasn’t human anymore. Her ears were able to pick it up and when she tried to focus on other things - like the sound Baby Earp’s heartbeat or the sound of the car backfiring down the street - she couldn’t help but be drawn back by the voices. 

“Easy on the jokes, she’s a little… _off_ ,”

“What does that mean?”

“She’s jumpy, okay? Anxious. And I managed to calm her down. She’s just more quiet than usual. She admitted it to me”

“Wait. What?” 

“She admitted she lied about the passing out in her cruiser story. Well, I mean, she didn’t exactly come forth and say ‘I lied’, but she did admit it,”

“So did she tell you what was happening?” 

“She’s not ready to talk about it. I guess I just have to respect that,” Her girlfriend sighed, exasperated. “There’s something different, ‘Nonna. I can feel it. It’s not just some spell or curse or a one-time, small thing. I think its bigger than that. She said she was attacked,” 

“So, there’s a new creepy-crawly on the streets? Huh. Well, I mean, work has been slow. So, are we thinking Revenant or something that snuck into the Ghost River Triangle? One timer?  
Something bigger,”

“Bigger. And we need to keep an eye on Nicole. In case, whatever attacked her returns or if it has more effects,”

“Hm, okay. Well. I got the magic gun. Should I, like, point it at her in case she’s possessed or something is like living in her or - “

“Wynonna!” Waverly scolded her sister. “No! Just… Just hang around. Watch a movie with us,”

They watched a horror movie which Nicole quickly realized was a huge mistake to do with the Earps. Both were certified badasses who’ve dealt with their fair share of demons so every time any character did anything, they suffered an onslaught of critique from the both. 

“I would have shot him by now,” Wynonna kept grumbling while Waverly was practically fuming beside her. 

“Maybe if they - Oh, I don’t know - made a plan or even googled about this shithead they would understand what is happening, but no. No. By all means, continue running around, splitting up, and crying,” Waverly rolled her eyes. “Amateurs,”

“You said it, sister. I see three objects in that room that can be used as a weapon by now,”

“Really? Three? I see four,” Waverly snickered. 

“What? No. Three,” Wynonna narrowed her eyes and pointed to the screen. “One. Two. And _three_. Three,”

“Four. The hairspray. It can be used to make a makeshift flamethrower,”

“Shit. You’re right. God, that was obvious too! I'm losing my edge!” 

It almost felt normal. Almost. Except every so often, Nicole would catch their eyes focused on her rather than the movie, and she would shift and fidget under their gaze. But it was nice. It was good to have some sort of normalcy. 

\---

Nicole woke up at the dead of night feeling strangely much more alert than she usually did when it was three in the morning and pitch black out, but nothing anymore was usual. She carefully moved Waverly’s hand from off of her. At first, it almost felt weird to be touched by Waverly. She didn’t know why. She believed it was because a part of her thought she was going to turn into a hairy, fang-filled, demon wolf at any moment and having Waverly in close proximity to a beast like that made her nervous. But as the day went on and no grand transformation happened, she felt herself grow more and more comfortable. Now, it was like nothing was wrong. 

God, she hoped there was nothing wrong, but she felt wrong. She felt like she shouldn’t deserve to lay next to Waverly. It felt like she better deserved to take a bullet from Peacemaker. 

She stepped into the living room. A pregnant Wynonna was sleeping on her couch. Their relationship had been strained at first, but now Wynonna was closest person to being Nicole’s best friend. It was weird but a good weird. 

She watched Wynonna sleep cautiously for half second before pulling a blanket over the older woman’s feet. That’s when she noticed Peacemaker. It was laying on the coffee table taunting her.

Nicole’s fingers twitched at her side. Waverly once told her the gun burned any demon who touched it. 

She took a step towards it, extended her hand slightly to grab it, but that’s when she noticed a ginger cat sitting on the floor by the other end of the table. She couldn’t help but feel the burning sensation of shame for being caught. Even if it was just by the cat. 

She dropped her hand back to her side. “Hi, Calamity baby,” She moved toward Calamity to pet her but before the pads of her finger could even reach red fur, Calamity let out a sharp hiss and dashed under the couch. 

Nicole whipped her hand toward her chest and held it as if it had been burned. 

“...Nic..ole?”

“Shit, sorry, Wynonna,” Nicole straightened her back instantly, tucking both hands in her pockets. “Sorry. Just the cat,”

“Yeah,” the woman grumbled. “I heard the damn thing. She normally do that?”

“No,” Nicole swallowed hard. “No, she’s never....”

Wynonna opened an eye at Nicole’s odd tone. “You alright there, Haughtshit?” 

“Yeah,” Nicole nodded vigorously. She was overcompensating. “I should - “ She pointed to the bedroom. “You sure you don’t want to sleep with Waverly in the bed?”

“I’m not kicking you out of your bed, Haught. Besides,” Wynonna snuggled in deeper into the couch. “Sleeping with Waverly means sleeping with a goddamn tiny oven with all those goddamn blankets. I’m plenty good here,”

“Alright. Well, if you’re sure,” Nicole slumped her shoulders, eyeing the bedroom, but she had too much energy to go back to bed. 

Wynonna watched her curiously for a moment before sitting up on the couch. “You hungry?”

Nicole couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, actually,” She hadn’t realized how unsatisfied the bowl of soup was. Usually that enough for her, but she had to keep reminding herself that things were much different now. 

“Well, good thing we know a 24/7 diner,” Wynonna grinned. She grabbed the blanket and tossed it at Nicole’s chest. “You’re paying!” 

Nicole dropped the blanket down on the couch and trailed behind Wynonna before grabbing her car keys and slipping on her old hiking boots and a black coat. “Wait, Wynonna. It’s three in the morning. Don’t you want to get some rest?”

Wynonna let out a stark laugh as she untucked her long hair from her leather jacket. “Please, Haught. I’m a pregnant, professional demon-killer. I have no concept of a normal sleep schedule,” 

“Yup. That sounds about right,” 

\---

The 24/7 diner in town was a sleepy little place after Wynonna had killed two of its staff members. (“They were demons! I swear! They tried to eat Dolls! It was like a whole thing,”) Especially since it three in the morning and there was only one staff member acting as host, server, and chef, but Wynonna and Nicole did not mind. 

Wynonna went first. “I’ll have an order of pancakes and a coffee,” 

“I’ll also have a coffee and an order of ribs,”

Wynonna had a very physical reaction to Nicole’s order, screwing her face up and lurching back a bit. “ _Ribs _? At _three_? I’m the one that’s supposed to have the weird cravings, Haught,”__

__“It’s not weird,” Nicole defended herself. But it was weird. She just couldn’t help herself. She had been craving meat all night. Another great werewolf side effect. “It’s protein,”_ _

__“Yeah, right,” Wynonna rolled her eyes. “So, what’s got you so jazzed in the morning? You and Waverly didn’t like hook up while - “_ _

__“Wynonna! Waverly’s asleep! Well, hopefully. God, I hope we didn’t wake her up,” Nicole slouched in the booth, playing with the sugar packets in front of her mindlessly. “Wynonna?”_ _

__“Mhm?”_ _

__Nicole bit her bottom lip and was almost surprised she didn’t draw blood as a question weighed her down. “When you became the heir and everything you knew changed, how did you...deal with it?” She looked up._ _

__“I drank,”_ _

__Nicole frowned. “Wynonna, I’m being serious,”_ _

__“And so am I,” Wynonna put her arm up on the table, holding her head up with one hand. “I drank. A lot. But then, I woke up. Hungover, but like hungover for an Earp so it wasn’t like horrible or anything,” She shifted her weight in the booth. “And I remember I woke up, and Waverly was there. And you know, she looked at me the way she’s always looked at me. Like I’m a giant fuck-up,”_ _

__“Hey, that’s not true!” Nicole yelped._ _

__“I know. I know, but when I get wasted like that and I come home, she looks at me like that. We both know I was a shit sister to her until recently. She’s got a right to be disappointed,” Wynonna let out a sigh but quickly waved her hand as if dismissing the last sentences. “ _Anyways_ , she looked at me like I was a fuck-up, and I thought - God, no matter what is going on. If I got a magic gun, if I grew horns, if grew goddamn wings or some shit - Waverly, the people I love, are still gonna see me as Wynonna. Wynonna the fuck-up,”_ _

__“You’re not a fuck-up,”_ _

__Wynonna smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Recovering fuck-up then,”_ _

__Nicole wanted to tell her everything, and she was about to, but the plate of ribs and pancakes were dropped in front of them._ _

__“I can’t believe you’re going to eat that,” Wynonna scrunched up her nose. “You really are something else, Haught,”_ _

__Nicole would have responded if she wasn’t chewing the meat off the bones already. She worked like a machine, digging her nails into the bone and eating quickly. She was so focused that she hadn’t noticed that her nails had grown suspiciously quick in that time frame going from being stubs to long and sharp. She also hadn’t noticed that Wynonna was practically gagging as she watched Nicole._ _

__“Jesus, Haught!”_ _

__Her attention snapped to Wynonna in an instant. She was gawking at Nicole with huge eyes._ _

__“What the actual _fuck_ , dude? Does Waverly not feed you or something? Are you okay?”_ _

__Nicole blinked and looked down. All that was left on her plate was bones and sauce smeared on her mouth and hands._ _

__“Uh. I’m fine. I just… Well, I just...” Nicole wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I’m gonna… I’m gonna go in the bathroom and wash up,”_ _

__“Yeah, okay, dude. You go do that,” Wynonna mumbled to herself. “Jesus Christ. Man, we gotta start signing you up for competitive food eating competitions or some shit,”_ _

__\---_ _

__The diner’s bathroom was its least attractive location. It only had one good working fluorescent light. The rest flickered. The floors were uncomfortably dirty, and the stalls were full of graffiti. Nicole’s personal favorite was the “Wyatt Earp pissed here”, because she always imagined Waverly carving it in even though she doubted her girlfriend would ever. Hell, it was probably Wynonna who did it. Still, the comforting reminder of girlfriend almost grounded her._ _

__She locked the stall and leaned against the door._ _

__“Get your breathing under control, Haught,” she whispered to herself. A pep talk in a diner’s crappy bathroom was not exactly what she pictured she’d be doing at three in the morning. “You are going to get out of this bathroom. You are going to work today. You are going to have a good, normal day. You are okay,” She closed her eyes tightly and listened to the sound of her breathing going in and out and focused on it. Sometimes her abnormal hearing would pick up a noise, like sometimes, she could hear Baby Earp’s heartbeat crystal clear. Or she’ll hear the sound of someone slurping coffee or Wynonna nibbling on her pancakes, but she managed to always try and bring it back to her breathing until it calmed down and grew less erratic._ _

__When she stepped out, she washed her face and walked casually back to her booth. Wynonna was done, sipping her coffee._ _

__“Hey, sorry for giving you shit about...whatever that was,”_ _

__Nicole’s eye fell downward, but she forced a smile. “It’s fine, but thanks,”_ _

__Wynonna nodded. “So you gonna pay the bill? Cause I ain’t paying for goddamn ribs, Haughtshot,”_ _

__“Right. I’ll go do that,”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted Wynhaught and Wayhaught to talk some things out. It may be confusing to some people why Nicole would kind of hint at what happened without directly coming forth and saying it. My thing is that she's not ready. I'm basing this kind of whole coming-out-as-a-werewolf concept on my own coming out. When I realized I might be gay, I hinted and spoke briefly about it, but going into more in depth convos about it and talking about wlw ships and all that good stuff was really hard. I was dealing with a lot of self-hatred. Inspired by that, I can of find Nicole to be doing the same. She's not ready. She doesn't know herself and doesn't know if she likes herself now. She just isn't ready, but when she is, she knows Waverly will be there for her. 
> 
> I dunno if this is my strongest fic or my best writing, but I really enjoyed doing it. This fic as a whole has been a lot of fun. I'm just currently having issues with where exactly I want this to go for my ending so if updates are a bit slow for your taste, I am so, so sorry. 
> 
> When I post this 2x10 will be airing tomorrow and that's extremely terrifying and exciting at the same time! It's been an emotional roller coaster. I'm really interested to see how this story arc all plays out. I know we're in for a ride! 
> 
> Anyways, hit me up on my tumblr Haughtwords if you want to talk about the new ep at all or give me prompts. :D 
> 
> Thank you all for your postivity and support with this fic. <3


	5. Chapter 5

Nicole stared at her reflection for a long moment, at the scars that now claimed her body, before she put on her uniform and entered the station. It was only the start of a new day, but it already felt like it was going to be a hard one. Thankfully, she spent yesterday laying in bed and reading every werewolf article she could get her hands and none of them said that werewolves usually transformed in the middle of work so Nicole figured that was a good sign. She wished could express to Waverly how grateful she was of how Waverly handled the situation, allowing her space while always being there from afar. 

Waverly had constantly been close by. Her search history was full of fiery demons and monsters since Waverly couldn’t in good faith stop her search to discover whatever attacked Nicole.

“Is it still out there?” she had asked. 

“Hm, I think, but I got a feeling it was a one time thing,” Nicole responded. Even though, she had no idea of actually knowing that. It was just gut instinct. 

A couple hours later, she confronted Nicole again. “Why won’t you tell me what it is?”

“I will, but baby, but I don’t feel ready to discussing it just yet. I’m not ready,”

“You can tell me anything,”

“I know,”

The interrogating died down as quickly as it started with a few flare-ups. Like while they were brushing their teeth, Waverly casually started a rant about a fire demon she had read about.

“Really nothing?” she pouted. “Look, what if it’s a BBD case and - “

“I discussed with Deputy Marshall Dolls already. He’s going to look into it personally, but so far, he’s reported that there appears a minimal threat level. He thinks what happened was entirely accidental,” 

“So you told Dolls but not me?”

“I had to make sure it wasn’t going to effect Purgatory,” 

She paused for a long moment, lowering her tooth brush. “Do you believe it was accidental?”

Nicole hesitated. “I… I don’t know yet,” 

Waverly gave her a big kiss on the cheek even though she had toothpaste foam all over her mouth and gave her a large toothy grin which only made Nicole laugh harder. And just like that, the two’s serious conversation dissolved instantaneously. 

Waverly’s instincts that something was wrong with Nicole (other than the odd supernatural case that Nicole refused to discuss just yet with Waverly) couldn't be more right, the stress of her apparent werewolf-ism was eating her away and the guilt of not telling Waverly made this worse. Currently, Nicole wished Waverly would just let the whole investigation die down so she could have some time focus on herself a bit. She was still having difficulty wrapping her head around everything. Everytime she really sat down and thought about things it either brought along a headache or a panic attack. And figuring how to tell her girlfriend she was now a glorified dog was even harder and more confusing than accepting it herself.

Coming out to Dolls was easy. He was a colleague with a distant but small personal relationship. To come out to Waverly would be huge and difficult and scary, because Nicole was in love with her. If Waverly looked at her differently or treated her differently… She let out a sigh. If she continued down this train of thought, she’d end up crying before lunch. 

She stepped out of the girl’s locker room, only to immediately be confronted by Waverly Earp herself. 

“Hey, Nicole!”

“Waverly!” She hated how squeaky her voice got. 

“So I don’t want to pressure you or anything. I know yesterday was rough, but you seem better. Which is good. I’m really glad, but I was thinking that Jeremy here should run a few tests on you. All really typical, BBD protocol. You know, for safety. I think we - like me and you - would feel really good if we took a test just to see if everything is alright after that supernatural attack,” Waverly smiled sheepishly. It was weak excuse and the smile was an ever weaker attempt to hide the worry and fear in her eyes, but Nicole didn't mind. And certainly wouldn't call her out on it, because doing so would mean to reveal herself. And she wasn't ready for that yet. 

Nicole turned to eye Jeremy. “What kind of tests?” she asked. A reasonable question, she figured, and not at all suspicious or evidence of her being a werewolf. Nope, not at all. 

“Blood test,” Waverly said.

“Alright,” But it was not alright. Nicole was clearly riddled with nerves over the whole ordeal, and Waverly was too anxious herself to notice. Who knew what secrets a blood test would reveal? Who knew what would happen if a BBD made records of her DNA, of her now werewolf DNA? What if the whole agency came spilling in? Disappearance or not, they still existed somewhere, and Nicole was sure they were still watching. They had to be. The Ghost River Triangle was too much of a hotspot not to. And - 

“So, you're okay?”

“Hm?” Nicole whipped her head back to face Waverly. Her train of thought halted. 

“With the testing?”

“You know, I would do it, but - “ She racked her brain for an excuse but there wasn't a good one until - Wynonna stepped into the station, sipping her tea and chewing mindlessly on a donut. “I have a case with Wynonna. So, raincheck?”

“You do?” Waverly frowned. “Right now?”

“Yup. The Caulfields. Weird, spooky noises. The usual,” Nicole forced a laugh which just came out nervous and awkward. She quickly bent down and kissed her, but even that was awkward too. “See you later!” she managed to say without screwing things up worse. And quickly began speed walking towards Wynonna. 

“What's got you all riled up? There a discount on UHauls or - “ 

Nicole, without a word, dragged Wynonna out of the station, but before Wynonna could speak up, Nicole interrupted her. 

“We have a case,”

“No,” Wynonna scowled. Distrust clearly shown in her dark eyes. “I have a case with _Dolls_ ,” she corrected her. “He said very strictly that you weren't a part of it - whatever that means,” She paused and shifted her weight from foot to foot. “You guys fighting or something?” 

“No, no. Just - “ Nicole rubbed her forehead. “Wynonna, please let me go on this with you. I mean, when have you ever followed the rules?”

Wynonna was taken aback at first but smiled. “Damn, Haught-and-bothered, you must really want in if you're willing to break the rules. I thought you were all goody two-shoes and shit. Thought that was what Waverly was always cooing about,”

Nicole bit her lip. “It's important,” was all she said. She couldn't very well tell Wynonna it was important because she needed to avoid Waverly. Or that it was important because finding out the werewolf that hurt Nicole could lead Nicole to some answers about her future. Or that it was important because goddamn curiosity filled Nicole’s head about what a full fledged werewolf was like. 

Wynonna regarded her for a long moment. “Alright, fine. We’re partners, but you're paying for the donuts,”

“Of course,”

“And the corn chips,”

“I can do that,”

“And the ice cream,”

“Now, Wynonna, I - “

“And the pickles,”

“I don't think - “

“And the pancakes,”

“Okay! Okay! Fine” Nicole waved her hands empathetically and out of frustration. “I'll buy it all! Just don't tell Dolls,”

“I can do that. I'll call him up,” Wynonna grinned devilishly. “Thanks to Baby Earp, I can get unlimited sick days from that sucker,” 

Nicole smiled and ignored the inkling of regret she was beginning to feel deep down in the pit of her stomach. 

\---

They drove out to the Caulfields in Nicole’s cruiser. Wynonna seemed comfortable in the car as she nibbled on her snacks, but, meanwhile, Nicole was practically buzzing. Maybe this was a bad idea, she slowly began to realize as they pulled into the driveway. Returning to a scene of a crime with your sister-in-law who was currently pregnant with the next Earp heir seemed like a not so good idea. 

But Wynonna seemed oblivious to Nicole’s internal struggle and hopped out of the car. 

“So what exactly are we doing?”

“Just checking around,” Nicole said as she pulled out her gun. “Neighbors heard weird noises,”

“Hm, that's not usually enough to call in BBD,” she gave Nicole a small pout. “I was promised action and rule-breaking,”

“I promised you rule-breaking and food,” Nicole clarified but found it rather hopelessly. It was impossible to win an argument with an Earp. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Wynonna rolled her eyes. “Should we check on the happy couple?”

Nicole nervously eyed the house. It looked much scarier now than it was a day ago. “Yeah,” she agreed, following behind Wynonna. “But be careful,”

“Be careful?” Wynonna frowned at that. “I'm just knocking on a door, Haught. Shit, don't worry. I'm not made of glass. I'm not gonna break my damn wrist by knocking,” She rolled her eyes again and knocked on the door and, for good measure, she did it with all the strength she could muster, and gave Nicole a cocky smirk afterwards.

Now, it was Nicole’s turn to roll her eyes. 

They waited for a moment, but no one came. 

“C’mon. Guess they're not - “

“Officer Haught?”

Nicole nearly fell down the front steps. Standing in the doorway was Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield. Both had the same dark hair. Dark hair that reminded Nicole of fur. She swallowed down the bile that was starting to rise.

“Well, we thought that was you!” Mr. Caulfield grinned. It could only be described as “wolfishly”. 

“You guys know each other?” Wynonna asked, puzzled.

“We met once,” Nicole said, holding back the desire to swing around and punch the man in the face. “It wasn't under good circumstances,”

“Well, you see, I wasn't myself, Officer Haught,” the man said. His eyes were awake with something dangerous. Wynonna seemed to notice it too by the way she inched back a bit. “You'll understand the feeling soon too,”

“Is that a threat?” Nicole snapped. She took a step toward the man, but before she could act, Wynonna tugged hard on Nicole’s shirt collar. She let go though and took a step forward, acting as a blockade between the two.

“Look,” Wynonna rose both her hands up in mock surrender. “Me and the redhead are just here to tell you guys to keep the noise down. A couple of neighbors were concerned, and we just wanted to check in and see if you guys were alright,” She looked back at Nicole for confirmation as she said, “By the looks of things, I think we’re done here?”

“Yeah,” Nicole stiffened. “Yeah, we’re done,”

“See you around, Officer!” the man called out as the walked back to the cruiser. “I have a feeling we’ll meet again soon!”

Wynonna entered the passenger’s seat as Nicole entered the driver’s and both wordlessly buckled their seat belts before Wynonna broke the silence, turning her head to face the cop. 

“So that was weird,” she said and she let out a breath she had been holding. “I've never had to be the voice of reason before,” She grinned. “It's kinda weird. You can keep that job. I'll stick to being the temperamental idiot holding the gun. No more Freaky Friday shit for us. Okay?”

Nicole flushed in embarrassment and looked away. “Sorry,”

“It's okay. Sometimes, shit gets us upset,” Wynonna shrugged. “That's life, man,” She looked out the window at the Caulfields’ trees and wildlife before she continued, “You know, Waves told me you've been under the weather,” 

“I have,” 

“Yeah, just…” Wynonna drummed her fingers against the dashboard almost nervously. “Nicole?”

It was the first time in a while Wynonna had used her first name. 

“Yeah?”

“When we were at their doorstep and you were getting all angry and… I could have sworn… I saw…something,” she blinked. “Something weird,”

“What, Wynonna?” Nicole asked, pretending fear wasn't slamming into her rib cage. 

“Your teeth,” Wynonna murmured, glancing up at Nicole’s eyes for a half a second before darting away. “They didn't look exactly human,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay of this chapter, or if it's going in a direction that disappointing you. Chapters may be delayed again in the future due to school and declining mental health. I'm sorry. 
> 
> I'm @haughtwords on tumblr


	6. Chapter 6

Nicole’s heart had become a drum in her chest. A giant drum that no doubt if Wynonna was a werewolf too, she'd be able to hear. Hell, you didn't need to have super hearing to hear how thunderous her heartbeat was, but then Wynonna was laughing, an easy laugh. 

“I must be seeing things,” Wynonna snickered. Because that's how she responded to seriousness. She laughed and she joked. And it was not at all reassuring at this moment. 

“Yeah,” Nicole gulped down her fear and the bile and the desire to run far, far away. 

“Hm, I blame Baby Earp,” Wynonna grinned, nudging Nicole with her elbow. But Nicole knew deep down that Wynonna hadn't convinced herself so quick that what she had seen wasn't real. 

After all, Wynonna spent so much time questioning and being questioned about what she saw when she was young - about the demons, about who shot Daddy, about who took Willa - that she learned to trust herself, believe in her eyes. Wynonna knew. She knew something was up. 

“I wonder if - “ But Wynonna was cut off by the sound of her phone. “Shit, Dolls needs me back at the station,”

“Right,” Nicole nodded. “Sorry to drag you out in the middle of nowhere for nothing but a boring sheriff's deputy case,”

“It’s alright. It was a bonding experience,” Wynonna grinned. “Besides, you still owe me food,”

They rode the way back home in silence. 

\---

She sought out Waverly the moment her feet hit the station’s tile. It was just second nature. When she felt like she was losing control, when she wanted to feel safe, when she wanted security, she sought out Waverley. 

Waverly was beginning to feel a Hell of a lot more like home than Purgatory did. 

She stood in the middle of the bullpen and closed her eyes tightly and focused on the noise. The shuffling of papers. The clicking of a stapler. Mugs being placed on wooden tables. Squeaky shoes. And… And a heartbeat. She focused on the heartbeat, opened her eyes, and followed the sound, and that’s when she found Waverly. 

“Waves?” she peeked her head inside the break room and saw Waverly sitting at the small table, reading a book that had to be bigger than her. “Waves?” she repeated. The second time did the trick as Waverly’s big hazel eyes flickered upwards, but the moment she did, she let out a squeak and slammed the book shut. 

“ _Nicole!_ ” 

“What are you reading?”

Waverly managed to keep a straight face before it completely fell apart. She let out a little sigh. An adorable sigh, really. “Sit down,” she motioned to the chair beside her. Nicole obeyed. 

“Baby, I don’t want to scare you, but I think that we need to discuss some things. You’ve been really distant lately. And I understand you want to wrap your head around your attack, but I feel we should discuss it. Even if you don’t want to give me details just yet. You could have died. You should have died. And I’ve been researching, and I can’t find a monster that makes a person have a fever that high and also protects them simultaneously from the heat - “ 

Nicole let out a laugh that was riddled with nervousness. This was her chance. Her chance to come clean. To admit the truth. 

“I’m serious, Nicole,” Waverly frowned, taking her laughter the wrong way. “I’m worried about you. You didn’t see yourself that night. It was… It scary. You disappear and suddenly you come back looking like death. It - “

“No! No! I get it!” Nicole yelped. “I just… I think I’m ready - “

But the phone rang. The phone was having a habit of doing that. Frankly, it seemed everyone was having a habit of interrupting the couple. 

“BBD?” Nicole questioned. 

Waverly nodded. “Dolls found himself a tricky case. I’m sorry, baby. I have to go do research,” She dropped her head. “We’ll continue this later?” She jumped up from her chair and stretched her small body. 

“Yeah. Of course. Anything I can help with?”

“No, but thank you,” Waverly smirked. She bent down and kissed Nicole, and it was everything. It was a simple kiss, but Nicole couldn’t help but feel the flurry of butterflies, the increase in her heart rate, everything melting, all thoughts receding into the back of her mind. And for the first time during the whole day, she was met with a calmness that only Waverly Earp could give her. 

“I…” Nicole started. But she didn’t know how to finish. _I love you_. That’s what she wanted to say. _I love you. I love you. I love you._ But she couldn’t say it. Not here. Not now. Not when she hadn’t told Waverly the truth. “I’m here if you need anything,”

Waverly seemed almost disappointed by that. Nicole wasn’t too sure though, because the smaller woman walked out to head back to her work. 

Nicole sighed. She supposed she should do the same - get back to work. If only admiring Waverly Earp was her job.

\---

Nicole spent the rest of her day jumping around and doing the work of the sheriff’s department. Sure, now, she was supernatural, but that couldn’t stop her from protecting the citizens of Purgatory. 

Actually, her new found senses were quite useful. She was able to catch Champ after he got in a bar fight with Pete, because she could track him and his scent (which was gross. Very gross). She was able to hear Tucker’s drone much sooner than she could before which only helped her capture it sooner than she anticipated. All in all, what once was a terrible day now wasn’t too bad. 

The idea of her being a werewolf, of needing to tell the people she cared about, was becoming less and less scary. Her current idea was to drag the Earps into the woods and show them her ability to turn into a wolf.

Except, she hadn’t exactly used that ability yet or knew how to control it…

She sighed. It was back to the drawing board, she supposed. 

Then, her phone rang. And she picked it up. And what once wasn’t a terrible day became one in an instant.

“Officer Haught?”

“Deputy Marshall Dolls,” she greeted him. “Everything alright?” It was rare to get a call from BBD when she was working sheriff office’s cases. It was rare and frightening and meant bad things were happening. Really bad things. 

“There’s been a situation,”

Nicole wondered if Dolls could hear her heart crack on the other line. 

“What kind of situation?” she forced her voice to be calm, not to waver. 

“Wynonna and Waverly have been taken. We got reports of some weird noises. Typically it’d be a sheriff's department case, but after what happened to you, I felt it was best to send in BBD,”

Nicole nodded numbly even though she knew he couldn’t see it, but thankfully, he just continued.

“Wynonna and Waverly entered the building. I was to investigate the second, smaller building on my own when I got a call. Wynonna and Waverly are being held for ransom,”

“Doll, I….”

“It’s the Caulfields, Haught,”

Nicole didn’t realize it before, but she certainly did now as her canine begin to sharpen, turning more and more wolf-like within her own mouth. Her nails were growing too, turning into the beginning of claws, and they pierced the file she had been holding. She closed her eyes tightly, focusing on her own heartbeat, on calming down, because she couldn’t freak out in the sheriff’s office. Not now. Not when Waverly and Wynonna needed her. 

“Haught?”

“What do they want Dolls?” Her voice came out deeper, darker, angrier. 

“You, Haught. They want you,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the amazing and sweet comments on the last chapter. Thank you so fucking much for being so understanding. It really motivated me. And I'm so sorry for not only the delay but not responding to all the comments like I usually do. I was just overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion and gosh my heart is full. 
> 
> Next chapter will most likely be delayed, but I'll try to update sooner. Thank you for understanding. 
> 
> <3
> 
> I'm haughtwords on tumblr. Hit me up. If you wanna.


	7. Chapter 7

Nicole couldn’t thank every single deity enough that existed for the creation of sirens. She flew threw traffic in record time and spilled out of the cruiser the instant she slammed the brake and put the car in park. 

Dolls was standing outside with a radio to his lips. Doc was beside him, mustache twitching. 

“What’s the situation?” Nicole asked, pretending it was just a normal case. Pretending her voice wasn’t shaking. Pretending she couldn’t feel her canines sharpen within her mouth. She could hear heartbeats through the cement. Three distinct ones and she knew without a doubt, it was the Earps. They were healthy and strong. 

She focused so much on listening to the _ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum_ of the hearts that she almost didn’t hear Dolls as he said. 

“I got on the phone with Mr. Caulfield. He called me to say that I have to send you and you alone. Otherwise the Earps die,” Dolls said gruffly. Nicole knew him well enough to know Dolls hated feeling so useless. Especially when someone he loved was in danger. 

Doc seemed just as displeased, but he offered Nicole a small squeeze on the shoulder. “It appears our girls need you, Officer Haught. I would gladly lend you my services, but I cannot in good faith endanger the Earps. I am afraid it is up to you, Officer Haught, to bring our girls home,”

“She can do it,” Dolls spoke aloud and with such confidence that Nicole couldn’t help but blush a bit. “She’s got a...certain advantage. Don’t you, Haught?”

“Yes, sir,” Nicole nodded. She looked to the building. “I’m going in,” She turned to Dolls. “If things go south, if I become a threat and…” 

Dolls seemed to realize where she was going with the sentence and nodded abruptly. “I’ll put you down myself, Haught,” 

“Thank you, Deputy Marshall,” 

Doc eyed the two oddly but made no comment. It was better that way. Neither wanted to waste more time by talking when Wynonna and Waverly were in trouble.   
Nicole headed off, alone, into the abandoned building, clutching the handle to her gun and keep her jaw clenched. 

\---  
 _Ba-bum. Ba-bum. Ba-bum._

Nicole walked carefully through the building. Thankfully, the smell of Wynonna’s donut breath and Waverly’s perfume helped guide her through the building, weaving her way through the halls and rooms.

_Ba-bum. Ba-bum. Ba-bum._

 

Her hand was not its normal hue. Auburn hair was growing down her arm, around her wrist, to her fingers. It wasn’t a lot. Not yet. 

_Ba-bum. Ba-bum. Ba-bum._

Her nails were three inches long, curved, and sharp. 

_Ba-bum. Ba-bum. Ba-bum._

Her gun seemed smaller in her hands. She ignored it. And kept moving. She was getting closer. The heartbeats were louder. So was her own. It sounded like cymbals crashing in her head. 

_Ba-bum. Ba-bum. Ba-bum._

She rounded the corner and pressed her back to the wall beside the door. She held her breath and peeked in the room. 

Waverly was sitting on the floor. Her hands and feet were tied, and she looked small, but Nicole knew her girlfriend well. Some might mistake the fact that Waverly’s eyes were focused on anything but the situation before her as a sign of fear, but Nicole knew Waverly was coming up with a plan. Knowing her, it would be a genius one too. 

Peacemaker was on the table as was Waverly’s shotgun. The weapons stayed there just out of reach, mocking the Earps. 

In the middle of it all was Wynonna, brewing her own lovely chaos the way she knew best. 

She was up and being restrained by Mrs. Caulfield who was holding her roughly. She was thrashing around. Her right first was bloody, but it wasn’t her own. In front of her stood Mr. Caulfield. He was clutching his nose and muttering curses under his breath. 

Obviously, he had mistaken her pregnancy for weakness. 

“Jesus Christ. You _bitch_ ,” he howled. His teeth were razor sharp and his nose seemed sharper than it had before. “Jess, make the restraints tighter this time. She’s pregnant, not made of glass,” He continued his pacing, clutching his nose in an attempt to delay the stream of blood when he instinctively stilled. It was sudden. One moment he’s marching, the next he’s tense. His back erect and his eyes widened with realization. He removed his hands, dropping them to his side. “Oh,” A cruel smile appeared on his lips, brought on by intrigue. “Darling, we have a visitor,” He spun around on his heel and took a step forward. 

Nicole felt her whole body tense. 

With a voice slick with mischievousness, she could feel her skin start to crawl as he practically whispered, “You can come out now, Officer Haught. We’ve been waiting for you,”   
Nicole pressed her head hard against the wall, took a deep breath, turned into the room as quickly as she could firing three bullets into Victor Caulfield’s chest. 

He collapsed. His back slammed against the wall and he slid down. Blood marked the pale white walls. And his body collapsed like all the life had fallen out in an instant and his body just became lifeless beside Waverly Earp who sat there with a face mixed of horror and relief. 

His wife was the one who let out the shriek. It was bloodcurdling, but unnerved and without hesitation, Nicole whipped her gun around to face her. 

“Let go of the hostage,” she demanded. 

Wynonna let out a scoff and jerked around, still in her restraints. “I have a name,” she snapped, unphased by this situation. Hell, for her, this was a typical Monday. 

“ _Wynonna_ ,” Nicole scolded. She returned her attention on the woman - on Jess - whose eyes were wide with fear and a desire to bolt. “Let go of the hostage and put your hands on your head. I’m going to calmly - “ 

Before she could finish her sentence. Before she could finish her thought. Before she could react, a body slammed into her, bringing her to the ground. Her gun fell from her hand as her head made a sickening noise the second it made contact with the concrete. 

It was so loud Waverly let out a sob. 

But Nicole couldn’t focus on that. Couldn’t reassure her things were okay. Because Victor was above her, his body weight crushing her ribs, his hands were pinning her own at her sides, and his teeth were tiny knives and his eyes were blood red. And Victor was above her, looking deep into her eyes. Blood from the holes in his chest fell down onto her uniform. His suit was tarnished and stained. And he was above her looking deep in her soul. And he let out a chuckle. 

“Oh, Officer Haught. Don’t you know that unless those bullets are silver you don’t stand a chance?” 

“LET ME GO!” 

Nicole shifted and thrashed around and jerked and tried to move, but it was hopeless. Victor’s claws were digging into her flesh. His red eyes burned into her. 

“Now, you’re going to quit your little shenanigans or the pregnant one gets it,” 

She froze and anger warped her features. “ _Don’t you dare_ \- “

“Ah, so the puppy has fangs,” Victor let out another chuckle and stood up, tossing his blazer aside and carefully rolling up his white dress shirt. 

Nicole remained on the ground looking up and quickly dove to get her gun, but as she did she felt a hand wrap around her collar and drag her back. Her nails dug into the cement, but it was useless. With barely any effort, Victor took her from the collar of her uniform and tossed her into the wall. Her body hit it with a _crack_ and crumpled.  
She tried to move. Tried to think. Tried to work. But all she could see was darkness and all she could feel was pain. 

“Come on, puppy!” Victor taunted. “Come on! Get up!” 

“NICOLE!” Waverly wept. “NICOLE! STOP! STOP! HURT ME! TAKE ME! PLEASE! PLEASE!” Another loud sob. Another heartbreaking, soul-fucking-crushing sob. 

Nicole’s fingers twitched at her side. 

“HEY!” It was Wynonna now. “STOP IT YOU ASSHOLE! IT’S ME YOU WANT! I’M THE HEIR! SHE’S JUST A ROOKIE COP! FIGHT ME!” She was pleading. Her voice as raw as Waverly’s. Had she been screaming the whole time?

Nicole shifted her weight and let out a soft groan as pain radiated everywhere. She probably fractured her ribs. Fuck.

“That’s where you are wrong,” Victor regarded Wynonna with a condescending tone. “Your precious officer is so much more. I am here to show her that. To show her true potential. Now, come on, Officer Haught. Get up and show them. Get up and prove yourself,” 

Nicole picked herself up with great effort. She grabbed at the counter beside her and pulled herself up. Her balance was off kiltered. The room was spinning. Everything hurt and Waverly’s wails and Wynonna’s concerned comments were echoing in her head. They all sounded too distant. All she could hear was Victor like he was in her head. Like he was rooting around in her brain. 

“COME ON!” He was getting agitated. His footsteps were heavy. His fists were flying all about. “GET UP AND SHOW ME YOUR TRUE COLORS!” His anger was venomous, was toxic and suffocating. 

Nicole attempted to hobble toward him, but her knee gave out and she fell face forward. 

“THAT’S IT? COME ON! _COME ON!_ ” He was screaming. Screaming on the top of his lungs, fueled by a disgusting rage. 

She got up again. Blood was dripping from her nose. There was a deep gash in her head that was making her hair redder than before. Her bones creaked and cried out in agony with each movement. But she moved. And she walked toward him. It felt like she was walking toward her death as Victor eyed her with a perverse interest and Waverly and Wynonna watched. Both were restrained with mouths agape, on the sidelines, horrified. 

Nicole didn’t even look- _couldn’t_ even look at them. If she felt like shit, she couldn’t imagine what she looked like. 

“Come on,” Victor snarled. His anger was more contained but flashed in his eyes like warning signals. “ _Come on_. Show me that I turned the right girl. Hm? Show me I didn’t make a mistake by turning you into what you are,” 

“You turned me into a _monster_ ,” she whispered lowly. She kept moving forward. One step in front of the other. Eyes glued to Victor. She couldn’t look. She couldn’t dare to face Waverly now. 

“You should be grateful. You are so much more now,” Victor insisted with great vigor. “I-I-I made you _better_ ,” He slammed his finger into his collar bone. “I made you better. I _fixed_ you and your imperfections,” And then the sinister smile returned in all its twisted beauty. “Maybe I should fix your little girlfriend too and - “

Nicole rushed forward. The pain melted away as strength, that she didn’t know was there, bubbled up. She plowed into Victor, tackling him and slamming him into the wall, one arm on his neck and the other pinning his hand. 

“DON’T TOUCH HER!” 

“There she is,” Victor murmured. His voice thick was adoration. Not at all bothered by the switch in positions. “My prodigy,”

“So that's what I am to you?” Nicole growled. She added more pressure. “Why did you want me here?”

“I needed to see if you were a quality candidate to join my pack,” Victor smirked. “To see what makes you tick,” His eyes flickered over to his wife who stood guard over the Earps. “You’re going to join my pack, Officer Haught, or I’m going to kill the Earps. Together we’re going to turn Purgatory. Finally, you’ll have a family,”

“Fuck you,” she spat. “I have a family,” 

Victor ignored her. “Join my pack or they’ll die, Officer Haught. Choice is yours,” 

The Earps were screaming. Waverly crying out “Don’t do it!” on repeat and Wynonna giving the Caulfields an onslaught of swears and curses. Their heartbeats were erratic and wild. 

“If I join, you’ll have to let them go,”

“NICOLE - “

Nicole ignored the screaming. This was for their own good. She glared at Victor. “You have to let them go,”

The Caulfields shared secret looks for a moment. “Fine,” Victor decided. “But if you do anything funny at any goddamn moment, we’ll cross to Earp country and slit their throats. No hesitation,” 

“And if you fucking go back on your word, I’ll kill both you and your wife and whole fucking pack,” Nicole swore. Her normally brown eyes were a sharp crimson. Revenant red, really. 

“Great,” he wrapped his hand around Nicole’s and yanked it away from his throat like it was nothing, strolled over, picked up his blazer, and regarded his wife. “Jess, darling, let's go. Leave the duty of untying to our new member,” She obeyed and moved to his side. 

“You’re going to Hell, asshole,” Wynonna yelled. Spit flew from her mouth. “I’m going to get out of here and blow you all to Hell!” 

But the couple nonchalantly walked out without a care to the Earp’s words. 

Nicole watched them in a state of shock before she snapped back to reality at the sound of Waverly crying. God, she hated hearing Waverly cry. 

She limped to Waverly first. “Here, let me - “ But the moment her fingers went to touch the binds on Waverly’s wrist. The young woman jerked away. She couldn’t even look Nicole in the eyes. 

Nicole must have stood there for a good five minutes with her hands at her chest, afraid to move, afraid to startle Waverly anymore. Because goddamn it, all her fears were coming true. She wasn’t able to come out the way she wanted, because they saw. They saw her eyes glow, her teeth sharpen, her claws, the hair… And now Waverly was afraid of her. 

“Yo, Haughtstuff! Dude? Haughtstuff! Come here! Untie me first,” Wynonna’s voice was unusually soft and sympathetic.

Which was an odd way to regard a monster, Nicole thought sullenly. She stumbled toward Wynonna and did as she requested, cutting the rope with her nails with great ease. But she made no eye contact. She made no sound. She did as she was told and sat down in front of Wynonna as all the fight drained out of her.

She could lie on this cement floor in this abandoned building and just die, wilt away, and fall apart.

“Hey, Haught. Look at me,” Wynonna said. Her voice cut through the spiral of dark thoughts. 

Nicole glanced up at her friend. Best friend. 

Wynonna’s eyes were kind and a cocktail of emotions, but she didn’t seem afraid. 

“I’m sorry, Haught,”

“What for?” Nicole frowned. 

And without a moment to lose, Wynonna slammed her newly freed fist into Nicole face, and the world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update. I've been pretty unmotivated lately, but I'm trying my best. I dunno if this fic will ever be finished, but, again, I'll try. 
> 
> I'm gayywords now on tumblr. Hit me up.


	8. Chapter 8

“Well, _fuck_ , Dolls! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“She wanted to be the one to do it. I had to respect that,” 

“...She didn’t even tell _me_. She was going to… I think… But she never…. I’m her girlfriend, and she didn’t tell me,”

“Yeah? Well, I’m her _best friend_ and, like, her sister-in-law or something. Goddamn, this explains that freaky shit at the diner and that teeth thing at the Caulfields. _Fuck_. You should have told me,”

“Earp, you know I couldn’t,”

“....Is she dangerous?”

“What? Waves, don’t be ridiculous. She’s still our Haughtstuff. Just now, she’s just a little bit hairier and, um, kinda a dog during the full moon. I guess. Shit, are we gonna have to like get a kennel or something? Buy dog food? I’ve never had a pet before,”

“Earp, please,”

“What? I’m pregnant, Dolls! Which means my ways of coping with shit is very limited right now! So let me use humor. God,”

“Look, Earp. Waverly is right. We need to assess what kind of danger Officer Haught poses. She’s a supernatural entity right now with very limited control of her powers,”

“Dude, you’re a lizard...dragon...thing, and we’re not over here assessing you,”

“I know what I’m doing and how to control myself. Haught, unfortunately, doesn’t. We have to think things through - how we want to handle this. We have to be smart - not just for us, but the citizens of Purgatory. I know Officer Haught. She would want us to think things through,”

“Haughtdog is the same old - “

“NO! Okay? No! Stop! ‘Nonna. She’s…. It’s different now. She didn’t tell us. She’s a werewolf and… She… It’s different now...”

“.... _Fuck_...”

\---

Nicole came to a few times. Sometimes, it would be dark and she’d be alone, but she would be able to hear the voices in the homestead. Sometimes, she’d open her eyes for a second and see Doc drinking whiskey beside her. Or Wynonna listening to music. Or Dolls just sitting there and staring at her with a stoic face but kind eyes. Once, it was Jeremy. He was playing on a 3DS and didn’t even notice she had stirred. She would open her eyes, look around, and then fall back into the darkness and pass out. But with the few times she was awake, the few minutes, she knew she was in the barn, tied to one of the support beams. 

She also knew that Waverly hadn’t been around. 

She wished it was just because of a gut instinct so that way there would be room to be wrong. But she knew because when she was awake, Waverly’s perfume never lingered in the air. Her scent was stale - probably left behind from their brief “pop out” to the barn. 

Wynonna was with her the most. Donuts and lotion and green tea and corn chips and all of it… It lingered everywhere. It was comforting to know that even though Nicole was a horrible monster, she at least had someone rooting for her. 

She just selfishly wished that it was two. 

But she figured she didn’t deserve it. 

Waverly was better off this way. Away from her and her truth. 

\---

She woke up and stayed awake for the first time when she was jostled awake by Wynonna who stood over her. Behind her were the boys - Doc, Dolls, and Jeremy. 

“She’s not here,” Wynonna whispered to her, already knowing that she was searching for one particular person. “She, uh, started working at Shorty’s again, picking up some shifts,”

Nicole doubted Waverly did, but was grateful that Wynonna tried to protect her. 

Her eyes began to droop, and she nearly fell back into unconsciousness once more when Jeremy splashed her in the face with a bottle of cold water. She couldn’t help but let out a sharp hiss. It was already freezing thanks to Canada’s winter. 

“Dude!” Wynonna yelped. 

“You said to keep her awake! I was just thinking on my feet! I didn’t - I’m so sorry, Officer Haught!” Jeremy squeaked, but immediately calmed down when Dolls placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Sorry, Haught, but Jeremy is right. You need to stay awake. You’ve been asleep for too long,”

Nicole watched the group before her carefully. She moved to stand, but the restraints - cold, silvery chains that were unforgiving and cold - pulled her back and dug into her skin. She let out a hiss of pain. 

“I’m guessing you guys aren’t here to let me out?” Nicole mumbled. She narrowed her eyes. It was dark in the barn, but that posed no problem for her. “How long have I been asleep?”

Wynonna shook her head, but it was Dolls who spoke. “You’ve been unconscious for two weeks,”

“ _Two weeks?_ ” Nicole gawked. “H-How… Have I…”

Doc took a step forward. “The injuries you sustained during your little encounter with them...unsavory folks would have killed a mere mortal. Thankfully, you aren’t as human as you appear, Officer,” he winked at her. As if it was fine. As if were werewolf-ism was something to joke about. 

She swallowed thickly. 

“But you, ma’am, are fine now. Your super healing ability came in handy,”

“Yeah, welcome back to the land of the living, Officer,” Jeremy joked, but he quickly dropped his weak chuckles when Dolls shook his head at him. 

“So… Why are you all here? Why am I still chained?”

“You joined a werewolf gang, dude. You’re a little...unpredictable right now,” Wynonna supplied. But it was weak excuse. She looked at all the boys in the barn and let out a sigh. “Boys, do you mind giving me and Haughtshit some time? We need to have a girl chat and talk about periods and - “

Dolls raised his hand to silence her. “It’s fine, Wynonna. Doc. Jeremy,” The other two followed him out, but Jeremy gave her an awkward wave on the way out that almost made her smile. Almost. 

Wynonna sat down in front of her. And it was hard for Nicole to see what side to Wynonna was she seeing right now. Was she seeing the protective sister? Her sarcastic best friend? The weary mom-to-be? The BBD agent?

There was so many sides, but it was all Wynonna.

“I’m sorry,” were the first words to come out of Nicole’s mouth. They sounded defeated and broken. She hung her head and could feel the tears swelling in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Wynonna,”

“How long?” Wynonna’s voice was hard.

But Nicole understood. The woman had a right to be angry with her. “Only a couple days,” 

“Were you ever going to tell me? Tell _her_?”

Nicole flinched as the accusatory tone hit her, but she let out a sigh. “I was,” she insisted. “I tried the morning of the...attack, but the BBD case came in, and she was swamped, and we didn’t have a chance to sit and talk… How is she?”

“Feeling pretty betrayed, Haughtie,” Wynonna admitted. “But, she’s strong,”

“Definitely,”

Wynonna sat there. Not saying anything, mulling over her own thoughts, while she kept a steady look at Nicole. In her hands was Peacemaker, and her fingers aimlessly wandered around the metal, twisting and spinning the gun around with ease. 

“I don’t know what to do,” Wynonna said aloud.

“I don’t either,” Nicole smiled weakly. “This is kind of my first time being turned into a werewolf and chained,” She could probably snap the chains if she wanted, if she focused. She knew she had abnormal strength now. Surely that extended to restraint-breaking. 

“You’re still Nicole, right?” And suddenly Nicole was struck with how tired Wynonna’s voice was. How many times would she be betrayed by people she loved?

“I am. I think,”

Wynonna’s eyes flickered down to her gun. “Can you control your powers?”

“I think I can,” Nicole’s eyes were glued to Peacemaker. “I… I can learn,”

“Are you going to hurt us? Wavery? Me? The…” her voice faltered, but she gulped loudly and regained her composure, putting on a brave face. “The baby,”

“I would never hurt you guys,” Nicole said with great confidence. She balled her hands into fists, ignoring the tears that fell. “You guys are my _family_ ,” she insisted. 

“I believe you, Haught. I know… I know you’d never _want_ to hurt us, but the thing is, you _could_. You’re not human anymore. It’s my job to hunt down the inhuman, to make things safe for Waves and Purgatory,” Wynonna’s eyes were watery in the darkness. “I…” Without another word, she raised Peacemaker up. “I need you to make your peace,”

Nicole stared down the barrel of the gun, and for a moment it was just a normal gun. And then the moment passed, and it began to glow. The way it did when Wynonna was hunting Revenants, demons, and monsters. And Nicole knew that her eyes were glowing a sharp red hue. 

Tears streamed down her face. “I’m so sorry, Wynonna. Do what you have to,” She closed her eyes. And she waited. And she waited some more, but the bullet never came. She opened her eyes to find Wynonna sitting in front of her, Peacemaker discarded, and tears running down her face. 

“Fucking hormones,” Wynonna murmured and forced a laugh as she mopped up the wetness of her cheeks with her sweater. She stopped and met Nicole’s eyes. “I’m not going to… You’re not a monster,”

“I am. I’m dangerous,”

“You could also be helpful,” Wynonna suggested with a simple shrug. “Dolls said he could train you. He said we’re going to figure out how to handle full moons, but until then no transforming into your Hulk-mode, beast thing,” She let out a loud sigh, sniffled loudly, and stood up using a support beam to pull herself up. “You’re my friend, Nicole. You’re not a monster. You’re just a little different now. And that’s okay. I mean, fuck, dude. My boss is a lizard man. My maybe-baby-daddy is an immortal cowboy. And my baby could be a half-demon. I’m not gonna draw the line at werewolf,” 

Nicole didn’t know what to say so she nodded. “Thanks, Wynonna… I…”

“It’s fine, Haught. Just… Stop squirming. I’m gonna let you free,” Wynonna moved behind her and with a click the chains went slack and fell down, and Nicole was freed. 

\---

Dolls drove Nicole home as Wynonna wanted to stay at the homestead in case Waverly returned from her “shift at Shorty’s”. 

But the truth was, no one knew where Waverly was. She had been at the homestead for the two weeks - her scent was strong. But when Wynonna told her they were going to consider letting Nicole go, she dashed. 

Nicole didn’t blame her. 

The ride to her apartment was slow and boring. They listened to country music - the only music that ever played in Purgatory. And Dolls made no point in starting conversation. 

Which was fine with Nicole. All she wanted to do was sleep - even though, all her friends had advised against it. Perhaps when she got home, she’ll drink. A lot. It would be a welcome feeling than the shitty one she had now. But she didn’t know how exactly getting drunk as a werewolf would be. Would her body even let her feel the effects of alcohol? If she blacked out, would there be any increase of risk of her transforming? She didn’t want to risk it. She didn’t want to give Wynonna a reason to revoke her trust. 

“You’ll figure it out,” Dolls said as the car pulled into the driveway. His voice startled her, but his words had a calming effect as well. 

“Yeah… I hope so,”

Dolls parked the car and turned his head to face her. “Wynonna said you joined a werewolf gang. What’s that about?”

“Apparently, holding the Earps hostage and beating the shit out of me was their idea of a hazing ritual. They wanted to see what I was made of and once they saw that the Caulfields threatened to kill the Earps if I didn’t join their pack,” Nicole explained. “They want to turn the town,”

“Into werewolves?” he frowned. “Damn it,”

“Yeah. My thoughts exactly,”

“Well, we can’t let that happen,” Dolls told her in an authoritative tone as if she had been considering it. “BBD will handle this. Call me and let me know if they contact you,”

“I’m scared, Dolls,” Nicole admitted. She had one hand on the car door handle and had half a mind to just jump out and leave, but she couldn’t help the words fall from her mouth. “I’m scared they’re going to make me hurt people,”

“They can’t make you do anything,”

“They’ll kill the Earps if I don’t,”

“No,” Dolls shook his head. “No one is laying a hand on the Earps. I’ll be there to protect them. And you will too. And we both know the Earps can handle themselves too,”

Nicole found some comfort in that. She opened the car door and took a step out, feeling the cold wind hit her face. “Thanks, Deputy Marshall,”

Dolls smiled at that. “It’s no problem, Officer. Oh, and Haught?”

She paused before she could shut the door. 

“When I say BBD will handle this, I mean it. Don’t think I don’t know about your little stunt with Wynonna and visiting the Caulfield’s property when I specifically told you I was going to handle it myself,”

Nicole blushed. “Sorry… I wanted to - “

“I know,” Dolls smirked. It was times like this when Nicole remembered that he was more than just a colleague, he was a friend too. “Which is why you’re going to help us with this case. I shouldn’t have cut you out to begin with. You’re an asset now,”

“Thanks, Dolls. I… It means a lot,” She gave him a small smile - a genuine smile that she didn’t know she could still produce - shut the door, and walked back to her apartment. 

She opened the door. It was completely dark, but she made no move to turn the lights off. Why bother when pitch darkness wasn’t as blinding as it once was? She took off her clothes, stripping until she was in nothing but her bra and boxers. 

Her skin was unblemished except for the scars on her chest. There were no bruises or gashes or broken bones or displacements. It was like she hadn’t shattered her ribs or slammed her head in concrete or dislocated a few joints. It was like the fight never happened. 

Damn, she couldn’t believe she had slept for two weeks. 

She sat down on her couch and considered calling Waverly. The longest they hadn’t talked was a couple days, but two weeks? That seemed like forever in comparison. She typed a quick message - 

Nicole: I’m awake and okay. @ Apartment now. Call me when you’re ready to talk. 

She placed her phone on the table and moved to her bedroom. She thought about picking up her clothes or maybe getting a bite to eat, but the desire to melt into her covers and pretend the world outside didn’t exist was too tempting to disobey. 

She pushed the door open and paused.

Sitting on her bed with a book on her lap and a blanket wrapped around her was the one and only Waverly Earp. 

Nicole felt as if she was going to cry just at the sight of her girlfriend. She couldn’t help it that she was a useless lesbian at times. It was just that Waverly looked so beautiful in her classic Shorty’s crop top and dark jeans with her long brown hair flowing with nothing but the little lamp on Nicole’s bedside to illuminate her gorgeous features. And Nicole could see all Waverly’s muscles, tense and strong, but she could also smell the scent of salt, the scent of tears, and knew that her sheets were splattered with the tears of Waverly Earp. And the scent of perfume was so strong that Nicole knew without a doubt that during her two week time spent in and out of unconsciousness in a daze, Waverly spent a lot of time here in the room where they would sleep together. In the room that they made their home. And Waverly would lay alone and cry in the bed they shared. 

And Nicole couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with her love for this woman. But then she looked into Waverly’s eyes - slightly red, but cold. And she held back her breath until she spoke. 

Waverly looked up and blinked. “I think it's about time we talk,”

“Okay,” Nicole said a bit breathless. “Okay. What do you want to know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today has been wild. I posted three fics that I got from prompts. Now I’m posting a new chapter here! I know you guys must be sick of the lack of updates. I really am sorry. I’m sorry I’m so annoying. I’ll try to be better.
> 
> Hit me up on gayywords on Tumblr. I’m always looking for feedback and friends. And again, sorry for the lack of updates.


	9. Chapter 9

They sat on the bed at opposite ends - not touching each other, maintaining steady eye contact - in a tense silence that was almost nauseating for way too long until Waverly finally cracked.

“So when the Caulfields turned you into… Was that intentional?”

Nicole furrowed her brow. “I think so. I think they wanted someone like me - a cop, connections to BBD, someone healthy, well known in the community. It would make turning and corrupting the whole town easier,”

Waverly fell back into silence, bobbing her head slightly at the response.

“But I’m not!” Nicole added with a yelp. She took a deep breath and continued in a calmer tone, “I’m not gonna corrupt the town and turn people. I don’t want to hurt anyone, Waverly. I… I became a cop to help out, to protect people. I’m not going to turn back on my morals now just because I can turn into a wolf sometimes,”

“You joined their pack, Nicole,”

“I joined as a temporary measure to ensure you and your sister will be safe. I’ll figure it out. BBD is going to work on this,”

“Makes sense,” Waverly muttered to herself. “BBD handles monsters,”

Nicole pretended the comment didn’t sting. It shouldn’t have, but for some reason, it did. “Yeah,” she said. “They do,”

“Are you dangerous?”

“No. The full moon is in a couple days. Dolls will help me out when it does, and I know how to control myself in the meantime. I mean, control my anger so I don’t…” She let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated with it all. This was so fucked up. She would never in a million years ever thought that one day her girlfriend would look her in the eyes, fear evident, and say the words “Are you dangerous?”. She had never wanted that. All she wanted was to protect and keep Waverly safe, but really what Waverly needed to be kept away from was her. At the end of the day, the Revenants didn’t scare Waverly. Nicole did. She tried not to let that pain show. Instead, with as a much conviction as she could muster, she looked Waverly in the eyes. “No. Waverly, I’d never, ever hurt you,” Nicole said. _Because I love you_. She wanted to say it so bad, but her mouth couldn’t form the words and she wondered if it was even a good time.

“I missed you,” Waverly said. “I… I missed you so much. I thought maybe you were dying in that barn or something. I know it’s stupid, but I - “ She was crying. Her girlfriend was crying. “ - couldn’t help my thoughts. Wynonna told me everything gave me status reports and sent pictures and videos, but I couldn’t help it,”

“Can I touch you?” Nicole whispered. “Can I hold you?”

Waverly stared at her hands for a moment as if expecting claw to erupt or for it transform before her, but when nothing happened, she nodded. “Yes. Please do,”

So Nicole wrapped Waverly up in her arms in a warm hug. It was awkward at first, but then two instinctively just melted into each other with Nicole resting her head atop Waverly’s.

“You’re a lot warmer than you were before. I mean, I noticed it before when we were cuddling… I thought it was the fever, but… Do you have a new resting temperature?”

“I think so,” Nicole said. “Cold doesn’t bother me as much as it used to,”

“Hm,” Waverly nuzzled into Nicole’s neck. “Tomorrow, testing. Okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed. It was probably for the best.

“I’m sorry I didn’t visit you,” Waverly whispered into her shirt. “I… I was too scared to see you like that… I didn’t want to stop seeing you as my girlfriend and start seeing you as some...demon. And with the fight with Victor, the line started to blur,”

“What do you see now?” Nicole asked.

“I see _you_ ,” And then she smiled. “My werewolf, cop girlfriend,”

“So you’re okay?”

Waverly backed away a bit with a puzzled expression.

“So you’re okay with me being a werewolf?” Nicole inquired. Her chest grew tight the moment the question came out. “Because, there is no cure, Waves. I’m not going to get better. This is me now. For better or for worse,”

“I’m all in. It’ll take some time for it to really sink in, but… I’m all in,”

“You don’t have to be. I heard you. When you and the BBD group were in the homestead and I was chained to the barn, I heard you. You said I was different,”

“I was in shock. I didn’t know what I was saying,” Waverly murmured.

“Yeah, but you weren’t wrong. I’m different. I’m still Nicole, but I’m not the Nicole you fell - _started dating_ ,” she corrected herself quickly. Both women decided to ignore that blunder.

“But you’re you. And I like you. I like you a lot. And I’m not the Waverly you started dating either. Are we both just going to forget the seven weeks I spent possessed?” Waverly chuckled softly. “But you stuck by me, because you...liked me a lot. And I’m going to stick by you,”

“You don’t owe me anything. Just because I stuck by you, doesn’t mean that you have - “

“Nicole, I want to. I really do,” Waverly leaned forward into Nicole once more, place her head on Nicole’s chest. “Please don’t push me away. Please don’t. I want to be here. I wasn’t… I didn’t understand at first, but I do,” She hesitated a moment. “Do _you_ want me here?”

Nicole closed her eyes tightly. “So badly, but I don’t feel like I’m good enough for you,”

“You’re plenty good. Let me assure you that,”

“I feel more like a monster,”

“I don’t think you are. You’re supernatural, Nicole, but… To compare yourself to Revenants, to the Caulfields - you’re better than them, because you’re aware of your humanity and you’re proud of it,” Waverly was quiet a moment. “Besides, I think there can be such thing as a good monster,” And her eyes lit up with humor. “I mean, haven’t you seen _Hotel Transylvania_?”

Nicole couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh. “The little kid movie?”

“Hey!” Waverly squeaked, playfully punching her in the shoulder. “It’s fun for all ages!”

They spent the rest of the night talking. The conversation bounced from serious topics to a whole rant from Waverly how PG movies are intended to be enjoyable content for adults in order to gain a new demographic. And Nicole enjoyed every minute of it, because even when Waverly was scolding her for teasing her, hearing Waverly’s voice, seeing how passionate she was, it made everything feel infinitely better.

\---

They fell asleep pressed against each other, cuddling with their limbs tangled, but once the clock struck four, Nicole was wide awake. She decided to spend her time running. With her new found endurance and speed, her morning five miles became her morning twenty miles. With only a small glisten of sweat on her skin to prove she indeed had exercised, Nicole felt fantastic.

She could get used to this.

She entered back into her apartment, clutching a bag full of donuts and bagels - knowing fully well when Waverly woke she would rush on over to the homestead to intercept Wynonna and force her to take care of herself.

She paced around her apartment. Calamity Jane was nowhere to be seen. Her normally cuddly cat was always hiding behind furniture. Still, she set out food in case Calamity revealed herself when she left.

She’s had that cat for five years, and now she despises Nicole.

She heard a creak of the floorboards and immediately relaxed.

“Waverly, baby, I brought you - “ She froze.

Waverly didn’t have long black hair. She didn’t wear skin-tight red dresses to bed.

The woman standing in her doorframe was not Waverly.

“Sorry to disappoint, darling, but I come bearing news,”

No. No, the woman before her was not Waverly.

It was Jess Caulfield.


End file.
